It's been a long time, but I've been waiting to do this chapter the moment I've introduced Rhonda to the story. As a matter of fact, for every 4-5 chapters, I'll be doing one focusing on Brian's relationship with Rhonda. The reason for this is because I wanted to make the relationship between the two on a steady pace, making sure that I give both of them some development along the way, something that I have planned early on.
Also, I wanted to thank Sal for his help, so check out his stories when you can, including "The Homecoming" and "The Storm is Here".
Now that you guys know, I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!
The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 19-The Transfer: Part 1
It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon at Elmore Park, where pigeons flocked to feast on bread crumbs and little boys and girls were having a fun time at the playground. But at the basketball court, a certain purple fox and a yellow mouse were playing a one-on-one game, simply having fun with just of them together.
Ever since their encounter a few weeks ago, Brian had been smitten by Rhonda whenever she stopped by at his house, mostly just to hang out. During those few weeks, the purple fox learned a few things about her: she was not only smart, beautiful and brave, but she was also quite the tomboy and an athlete, having won several trophies for Elmore Academy in several different sports, including basketball. Speaking of which…
"Ready when you are." Rhonda called out to Brian.
"I was born ready." Brian responded back, as he positioned himself.
Before the purple fox knew what happened, Rhonda was moving with quick speed, prompting Brian to catch up to her as fast as he could. Despite the purple fox's best attempt, Rhonda was able to dunk the basketball in no time, leaving Brian completely worn out and exhausted.
"So Brian, you want to go two out of three?" asked Rhonda, as she picked up the basketball.
"You're on." Brian replied, despite being worn out.
"Alright Brian, if you say so." says Rhonda, as she began dribbling the basketball once more.
5 Minutes Later…
Brian panted very heavily on the basketball court, while Rhonda, though tired, remained relatively energetic, despite making several shots on the hoop, though the purple fox did managed to make a few shots of his own. Regardless of the turn of events, Brian was just having a great time with the mouse and that was what mattered to him.
'Wow! I could see why Elmore Academy considered her to be one of their best athletes.' Brian thought, before he made his way to Rhonda.
"…And that makes 30!" Rhonda announced, before she turned to see Brian coming her way.
"That was a nice game, wasn't it?"
"It sure was Brian. Also, you did manage to make a few scores of your own." Rhonda replied.
"Oh, it was nothing, really." says Brian, his face slightly blushing and rubbing his arm sheepishly.
"Seriously Brian, I really mean it. It was quite an improvement since we started hanging out." Rhonda assured the purple fox, causing him to blush much more. Fortunately for Brian, Rhonda didn't notice this right away.
"Well, thanks for the compliment Rhonda." Brian sheepishly replied. Once he said those words, he noticed Rhonda happily staring at him and before he knew it, their eyes were locked on one another.
"Rhonda…" Brian began.
"Brian…" Rhonda started to talk. Before either of them knew it, they were talking to each other at the same time.
"I just wanted to tell you…JINX!" the moment Rhonda blurted that one word, Brian was left momentarily stunned and dismayed by her response. For her part, Rhonda slightly chuckled, as she playfully punched the stunned purple fox's arm.
"I can't believe you fall for that one again. That was the tenth time this month."
"Yeah, you got me real good." says Brian, feigning a slight chuckle of his own.
"Oh, look at the time…" Rhonda said, as she checked her cell phone. "I got to get back home and finish up my homework. It was nice hanging out with you Brian."
"Yeah, it was nice hanging out with you too."
After bidding their farewells to one another, Rhonda got on to her bike and biked her way home, leaving a disappointed Brian standing on the basketball court in the park.
'Aw man! I knew that was too good to be true!'
The next day, at Elmore Junior High, Brian told the Watterson siblings of what had occurred between him and Rhonda at the park. As soon as Brian finished his story up, Gumball looked at the purple fox with complete astonishment by how the day ended between them.
"Are you serious, Brian?" asked Gumball. "How could Rhonda not know about your crush on her? You two have been hanging out for the last few weeks and she still has no idea?"
"It's not that simple, Gumball." Brian explained. "I wanted to make sure that Rhonda is there to hear what I have to say. The last thing I wanted to do is to make a complete fool out of myself."
"It isn't any different when Gumball fell head over heels with Penny and he ended up making a fool out of himself every chance he gets." Darwin happily said, earning the two-legged fish a glare from his older brother.
"Dude, you're not helping here."
"Darwin, I appreciate what you're trying to say, but unlike Gumball, I actually care about my dignity." says Brian, irking the blue feline. "Also, Rhonda isn't like Penny. She's a mouse with yellow fur and brown hair, goes to a different school and as far as she knows, I'm just a friend."
"Don't beat yourself up too much Brian. I'm sure she'll find out about your feelings sometimes in the future." Anais assured the purple fox.
"Thanks for trying to comfort me Anais, but in time like these, I really do wish I spend enough time with her all day, instead of on the afternoon or the weekends."
As Brian wallows in his despair, both he and the Watterson siblings passed a certain mouse across the hallway. They all stop dead in their tracks and did a double take to confirm who they think it is.
"RHONDA?!"
"Hey guys." Rhonda happily greeted the four.
Brian, as well as the Watterson siblings, couldn't believe their eyes. In front of them was Rhonda Paxton, a student of Elmore Academy, here at their school. But instead of wearing the standard Elmore Academy uniform, she was wearing a white sweater with blue stripes, a pair of khaki jeans and red sneakers. After staring at her for a while, Brian finally spoke to break the silence between them.
"Rhonda, what are you doing here?" asked the purple fox.
"You didn't try to sneak in here like we did back at Elmore Academy, are you?" Darwin questioned the mouse.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Darwin. It's nothing like that." Rhonda replied. "I just took part of a school exchange program that the academy was promoting this week. It allows their students, for just one day only, to trade places with students from other potential schools around Elmore, so we can gather what we learned before the day is over."
"Wow Rhonda, that sounds very amazing." Anais said, impressed that a place like Elmore Academy would allow them such an opportunity.
"Tell me about, Anais." says Rhonda. "I took the chance so I can get to know everyone around here in Elmore Junior High, including you guys."
While Rhonda and Anais were having a conversation with one another, Brian dreamily stared at the mouse, clearly lost in his thoughts, his wish had finally come true. Meanwhile, Gumball was pondering about Rhonda's presence, something that Darwin noticed almost right away.
"What's wrong, Gumball?" the two-legged fish asked his older brother.
"Darwin, I just realized something…" Gumball explained. "Since Rhonda transferred to our school for the entire day, which one of our friends decided to transfer to Elmore Academy?"
It was just another day at Elmore Academy, as Ivan, along with his gang, were finishing filling up the last balloon with water, before he loaded it in a large bucket of dozens of water-filled balloons.
The boys were giggling with glee, waiting for this very day to come. Ever since the academy was promoting its school exchange program this week, the red bear and his partners in-crime were looking forward to it. But it wasn't to welcome those who had participated in the program, but to take the chance to embarrass and humiliate every single transferred student from all over Elmore, especially those from Elmore Junior High.
"Alright you guys, you know the drill…" Ivan explained to his friends. "As soon as we've spotted the first target, show them how we greet anyone who comes from second-rate schools."
"Duh…got it, Ivan." says Lloyd.
"Yeah-yeah, we know the drill." Joey bluntly spoke.
"We're ready when you are." Ray replied.
Satisfied with their answers, Ivan and his gang waited patiently behind the bush, ready for the ambush at any given moment. Suddenly, the four felt the ground shaking, each step getting louder by the moment, before it abruptly stopped, leaving the red bear and his pals both shocked and startled by this.
"Duh…what was that?" Lloyd fearfully asked Ivan.
"I-I'm it was n-nothing at a-all, Lloyd." the red bear replied.
"Why don't we just take a peek and find out for ourselves?" Ray insisted.
"Sure, I guess. I'm curious to see what's out there." says Joey.
Once they agreed with each other, the four troublemakers slowly came out of the bushes, taking a peek to see who or what caused the disturbance. Before they know it, they stopped dead in their tracks, both shock and terrified, as they were staring at a giant with a gorilla-like structure, his entire body covered almost entirely multi-colored furs, save for his hands and feet.
"Hello." the giant, known as Hector, greeted Ivan and his friends down below.
The red bear and his pals, however, continued to stare at the friendly giant, unable to move their bodies or do anything else at all.
Gumball continued to ponder for a while, trying to think of which of his fellow classmate decided to participate in the school exchange program. But after a few minutes, the blue feline shrugged his shoulders and decided to brush that off for now.
"Whoever it is, I'm sure that person is having a good time there." Gumball said to his brother, before focusing his attention at Rhonda. "So Rhonda, do you want us to give you a tour around Elmore Junior High? It's the least we can do after what happened a few weeks ago."
Before the mouse could give the blue feline her answer, Brian, now out of his dream-like trance, unexpectedly popped right next to Gumball, surprising both the mouse and the Watterson siblings.
"That's a great idea, Gumball! Someone like Rhonda needs to know what Elmore Junior High is like before she heads back to Elmore Academy this afternoon. Besides, this is our way of apologizing for sneaking into her school. What do you say guys?"
Before Gumball, Darwin and Anais could answer his question; Brian suddenly spoke before they had a chance to respond.
"What's that? You guys can't help me out on account that you're all busy today? That's alright then; I'll help show Rhonda around the school myself."
With that, Brian grabbed Rhonda's hand and almost immediately, dashed to the corner down the hallway, leaving Gumball and his siblings both confused and dumbfounded by their friend's action.
"What just happened just now?" Gumball asked.
"Beats me, Gumball." says Darwin. "What I really want to know is why Brian's behaving like that?"
"It shouldn't be that surprising, considering that he does hang out with you two all the time." Anais pointed out.
Once Brian and Rhonda made their way to another section of the hallway, the purple fox let go of the mouse's hand, before sheepishly apologizing to her for his manners. Although Rhonda was somewhat perplexed by Brian's odd behavior, she decided to accept his apology and allow the purple fox to lead the way.
"So Rhonda, where do you want to begin?" asked Brian.
"Anywhere is fine Brian, but thanks for asking me." Rhonda replied.
"If you say so, Rhonda…" Brian began. "Say, just out of curiosity, does anyone else know about what happen a few weeks ago?"
Before the mouse could offer her friend an answer to his question, a certain antler peanut, along with her friends, came by to greet Brian down the hallway, as they spotted him, along with his mystery friend, heading right towards them.
"Hey Brian, how are you today?" asked Penny.
"I'm doing great Penny, thanks for asking." Brian happily replied. "In fact, I'm glad to see you and your friends right now. Girls and Leslie, I want you meet Rhonda Paxton. She's from Elmore Academy and she's taking part of a school exchange program, so she'll be here for the entire day until school ends."
"It's nice to meet everyone." Rhonda greeted the group.
"You're from Elmore Academy?" an astonished Masami asked. "No offense, but you don't look like the kind of person to attend such a school."
"I'm going to have to agree with Masami on this one." Molly stated. "You seem quite friendly, despite what we heard about the students that attended the academy."
"It's cool. I get that a lot whenever I go." Rhonda assured.
"You know, I just realized something…" Leslie began to talk. "You and my cousin Penny are the same height."
As soon as the flower was able to make note of this, both Rhonda and Penny, out of curiosity, decided to measure each other by the head for a minute or so, before smiling at one another, acknowledging Leslie's statement.
"Aside from the obvious…" Teri began. "Are you by any chance an athlete back at Elmore Academy?"
"Sure." Rhonda answered, though slightly uncomfortable by the topic. "I spend most of time practicing basketball, softball, volleyball and track and field. It's no big deal, really." Once she finished her sentence, the mouse just chuckled and rubbed her head sheepishly.
"No big deal? Are you kidding me? You must be really good based on that description." says an excited Carmen.
Before either Rhonda or Brian knew what happened, the mouse suddenly found herself surrounded by both the girls and Leslie, each of them asking more question about Elmore Academy, from its programs to its history. For his part, Brian was dismay about their unexpected actions, but decided to let it slide and at least let Rhonda try to answer their question as best as she could. That is, until a certain cold voice spoke out of nowhere.
"Am I interrupting anything, Brian?"
As soon as Carrie spoke, Brian yelped before falling to the floor on his back, prompting Rhonda, along with the girls and Leslie, to stop their conversation and turned to see the young ghost right next to the startled purple fox. Once Brian managed to regain his composure, the purple fox glared at Carrie, clearly not impressed by Carrie's sudden appearance.
"I hate it when you do that." says Brian. "Seriously, don't go up behind people like that."
"Sorry, I was just curious, that's all." Carrie said defensively. "Anyway, who's the new girl? I don't recall seeing her around here."
"If you must know Carrie, this is Rhonda Paxton, whose staying here for the entire day as part of her school exchange program." answered Brian.
"That's quite interesting. It's nice to meet you, Rhonda." Carrie greeted the mouse.
"It's nice to meet you too, Carrie." Rhonda greeted back. "Just out of curiosity, does anything happen around Elmore Junior High?"
"Oh believe me Rhonda; a lot of things always occur around here." Carrie replied. "As a matter of fact…"
The young ghost then began telling the curious mouse about the mishaps that go on around their school, from Gumball getting into a fight with Tina to Hector causing rampage all over town. Soon, the girls, as well as Leslie, joined in their conversation, telling Rhonda about the various stories that took place, as Brian looked on with dismay by this unexpected outcome.
'Aw man! I hope this conversation doesn't last long.'
25 Minutes Later…
Once the conversation between Rhonda, Carrie, Leslie and the girls were finished, Brian was able to resume the tour with Rhonda, hoping he had enough time to spend time with her before the next bell ring. Unfortunately, more unexpected occurrences kept interfering with his plans.
For some reason, Banana Joe decided to make a few jokes with Rhonda, much to Brian's annoyance. In addition, Tobias wanted to challenge Rhonda to a game of dodge ball, after learning that she was an athlete, though the purple fox convinced him that they simply didn't have time for it. Finally, Clayton felt the need to tell his outlandish stories to the mouse; although Rhonda listened to the young clay's tall tale, Brian was dismay by this, hoping the young clay would be finished right now.
'What's going on around here? At this rate, I won't have the chance to spend time with Rhonda.'
As an impatient Brian pondered today's surprising outcomes, Clayton managed to finish his story to Rhonda, who was quite amused from what she had heard just now.
"So Rhonda girl, what did you think of that?" Clayton asked.
"I have to be honest with you, Clayton. I kind of doubt what you said were true and accurate." Rhonda replied, leaving the young clay disappointed. "But if it'll make you feel better, I think you're a really good story teller."
"I never thought of it that way." says Clayton, brightened up by the mouse's comment. "Thanks for the kind words."
With that, the young clay hopped off, leaving Brian and Rhonda by themselves in the hallway, much to the relief of the former and hopefully, it stays like that for the entire day.
"Thank goodness that's over." Brian muttered under his breath, before turning his attention to the mouse. "So Rhonda, what do you think of Elmore Junior High so far?"
"It's quite nice compared to Elmore Academy." Rhonda replied. "It's not as big as the academy, but it's quite modest and your classmates are quite nice compare to the ones back at Elmore Academy. Believe me Brian; I have only met a few in the academy that are genuinely good."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." says Brian, his face blushing slightly. "But it's good that this school made a good impression on you so far."
"It sure did, Brian." says Rhonda. "I'm glad you volunteered to help me out."
"Sure, it's no problem." Brian responded with hearty laugh while rubbing his neck. "Anyway, what else do you want to do before the day is over?"
Before the mouse could have the chance to answer the fox's question, the duo was startled by the sound of stomping, with each footstep getting louder by the minute, until it suddenly stopped. Sensing a familiar feeling over his shoulder, Brian slowly turned to the direction and to his dismay, he saw Tina, along with Jamie and Anton, staring right at him, as the t-rex smiled with utter delight.
"Hello there, furball…" Tina began. "I see you're looking fine as usual."
"Tina, can't you just let it go already?" Brian pleaded with the carnivore. "I know you're still upset for what my dad did a few days ago, but can't just let bygones be bygones?"
"Forget dweeb." says Jamie, before grabbing Brian on the collar. "You, my friends and I got some unfinished business to take care of and there's no way we're going empty-handed this time."
"Hey, leave Brian alone!" Rhonda spoke out, prompting the hybrid to let go of the purple fox and focus her attention on the mouse.
"Well look it here you guys, Brian has a guardian angel coming to save the day." Jamie spoke with sheer sarcasm.
"I don't know what you and have your friends have against my friend, but whatever it is, get over it!" Rhonda demanded.
"What if we don't feel like it?" asked Tina, as the dinosaur reared her head towards Rhonda.
Undaunted by the carnivore's intimidation, Rhonda continued to glare at Tina, irking her in the process. Brian, meanwhile, quickly came to the mouse's aide as fast he could, clearly worried for her safety.
"Come on Rhonda, just forget about it and let's move on." Brian insisted.
"Brian…" Rhonda began. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm not letting them get away with this after what they did to you."
"You know, little mouse, you've got guts." Tina admitted. "Still, words aren't enough to convince either of us to back down."
"I couldn't agree more." Rhonda responded back. "How about this: Brian and I will challenge you and your friends to a game of basketball after lunch. If we win, you guys must let go of your grudges on my friend and move on."
Once the mouse made her demands, Tina and her gang pondered for a moment, while Rhonda and a concern Brian looked on, neither of them knowing what their responses will be. After what felt like a long time, the trio turned their attention to the two, ready to give out their answers.
"You know what, challenge accepted." Jamie replied.
"I'm looking forward to giving you and furball a nice beating when this is over." Tina remarked, before the t-rex and her friends turned to the opposite direction, leaving just Brian and Rhonda in the hallway, the former clearly dismay by another unfortunate turn of events.
"Was that really necessary in the first place, Rhonda?" the purple fox asked with discomfort.
"Don't worry about it Brian, we've been playing basketball together for quite some time. That gives us an advantage." Rhonda assured the worried fox.
"That does make sense." Brian agreed with the mouse. "But what if they tried to cheat, Rhonda?"
"Let's worried about that later, Brian." Rhonda replied. "Right now, we need to head to class before the next bell ring."
With that, both Brian and Rhonda quickly head to the next class as fast as they could, but the purple fox couldn't help but be worried for the mouse's safety. She has no idea what kind of people Rhonda is going up against, but he prayed that everything will turn out alright this afternoon, for their sake.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 20-The Transfer: Part 2
It's Brian and Rhonda versus Tina and her gang, as they go head-to-head in a game of basketball. But can the purple fox and the yellow mouse outsmart them and come out unscathed?
Tidbits
-As stated in the Mouse arc, I wanted Rhonda to be set apart from Penny in terms of relationship. So early on, I decided to make Rhonda be oblivious to Brian's feelings for her (to contrast Gumball and Penny's mutual feelings for one another).
-To set Rhonda apart from Penny, I decided to make her somewhat tomboyish in nature, as well as make her an athlete in the process.
-As for the relationship between Brian and Rhonda, as already stated, it will be on a steady pace, so I can make room for development. Of course, I'm going to put in a few obstacles along the way, but that's another story.
Thanks to everyone who read this chapter and I hope it was worth the wait to see Rhonda again.
Until then, see ya next chapter!